CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cuyahoga County has negotiated its first tax lien sale in three years, recouping more than $14 million for municipalities, schools and libraries.

A tax lien is a legal claim filed against a property by the county to collect a debt.

Private firms buy a collection of liens, pay the county the overdue taxes and then they collect from property owners, adding on as much as 18 percent annual interest. Foreclosures are allowed by law if the property owner has not paid within a year.

Cuyahoga County Council approved the sale of liens Wednesday on more than 2,000 properties.

Originally, though, a list of more than 7,000 properties - with more than $37 million in liens -- was offered to investors. In the last few months, after being notified of the impending sale, home and business owners have paid $2.2 million in delinquent taxes, county Fiscal Officer Wade Steen said. More than $16 million in delinquent taxes are now on payment plans.

The sale is the biggest in the state, Steen said.

In this sale, county Executive Ed FitzGerald worked with housing advocates for months, addressing concerns about vacant and abandoned properties.

The county aimed to eliminate every vacant property from the list. Officials also eliminated properties owing less than $2,000 and those with tax bills greater than 10 percent of their property value.

"We got the list right," Steen said. "We got the terms right."

The county spent 10 days negotiating the sale with Wood Cove LLC, the same company that this month bought a $5.5 million batch of tax liens in Summit County. Colorado-based Axis Capital Management Inc. will service the liens.

Follow Us

cleveland.com is powered by Plain Dealer Publishing Co. and Northeast Ohio Media Group. All rights reserved (About Us).The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Northeast Ohio Media Group LLC.